This is a great fingerpicking song. It’s quite challenging. Harry Chapin uses his first finger to sweep over a few strings at a time. I wrote the sheet in a way that replicates this but it’s not exact, as when he sweeps with his finger he doesn’t always hit the same strings. After the bridge, he plays with more intensity, so you could strum instead of doing the fingerpicking, but either way works. Harry himself played it differently live. Watch out for the odd time signatures and the repeat signs.
Harry Chapin - Cats in the Cradle P1
Harry Chapin - Cats in the Cradle P2
We hope you enjoyed this lesson. If you have any questions or comments you can contact us at patrice@paliatsky.com